Initial Licensing To apply for an initial license, you must submit an application to the department.

Upon receipt of a completed application, contact will be made to schedule an initial inspection date. You must not provide any services to children or youth in Residential Child-Caring or Child-Placing Agencies until the inspection has been completed and a license has been issued.

All licenses are effective for one year.

Renewal Licensing All licenses expire one year from the day they are issued.

Notice of renewal is sent to your preferred mailing address not later than 90 days prior to the license expiration date. To renew a license, you must submit the following:

Any licensee who needs to make a change to the license must obtain approval from the Department of Health and Human Services. To obtain approval, the licensee must submit a completed application to amend the license to:

The department investigates all allegations of licensing violations in children and youth care facilities. Complaints related to a licensed Residential Child-Caring or Child-Placing Agency can be made by one of the following methods:

Person filing the complaint and their telephone number (names are kept confidential)

Nature of the complaint/date of incident (Please specify the concerns you have about the facility including any names, dates, and times that describe the incident(s); and your relationship to the subject of the complaint/incident(s). Please also include the names of other individuals who may have knowledge of the incident.

You are required to have pre-licensing inspections before you can begin operation. The department will investigate to determine if you are able to ensure the proper care and treatment of children. Types of inspections include:

Initial licensure

Renewal licensure

Complaint investigation

Change in the use of the facility (capacity, adding rooms, service)

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Office of Children's Services Licensing

Department of Health & Human Services/Division of Public Health/Licensure Unit